The present invention relates to an item of hollow jewelry comprising at least one precious stone which is fitted into the galvanically produced wall thereof and which is held fast by galvanically applied metal.
Currently, hollow jewelry is frequently produced not by pressing but by a galvanic procedure in which an original model or design of steel is cast in silicone and that silicone mold is used to produce a large number of wax models which correspond to the original model. The wax models are coated with a conductive silver lacquer and so much gold is galvanoplastically applied to the conductive surface that the coating of the wax model becomes self-supporting. Finally, the wax can be melted out of the hollow body. Instead of wax it is also possible to use white metal (tin-bismuth).
Precious stones are electrically non-conductive. Embedding them in hollow jewelry produced by a galvanic procedure is therefore relatively complicated. In accordance with the disclosure of reference DE 35 44 429 C2, the wall of the hollow jewelry is of such a configuration that, after termination of the galvanization operation, stones can be fitted into prepared openings in the wall. So that the stones can be retained therein, outward bulge portions of the wall surface are subsequently mechanically shaped. On the other hand, reference EP 0 620 987 disclosed a process which involves firstly producing an item of hollow jewelry with a closed wall. The stones are fitted into depressions in the wall, in which case the largest diameter of the stones is approximately at the upper edge of the depression. Continued galvanic application of metal results in the formation of an edge bead or ridge which slightly engages over the stone and which is intended to hold the stone fast.
The known processes suffer from the disadvantage that the operation of inserting the stone is effected only in the course of the galvanization procedure, whereby damage to the extremely thin wall (about 0.2 mm) of the item of hollow jewelry can occur. In addition, the holding region which provides for fixing the stone to the item of hollow jewelry is poorly defined.